Check separator



J une 6, 1939.

D. C. ROCKOLA CHECK SEPARATOR Filed Sept. 28, 1936 Dab d Rocfiola HIS ATTORNEY.

i 30 The general construction and operation of a patentedjms 1939 2,161,091

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,161,091 CHECK SEPARATOR. 7 David C. Rockola, Chicago, Ill. Application September 28, 1936, Serial No. 102,916

7 Claims. (Cl. 194-102) This invention relates to coin controlled aplent operation of the control by the use of aperparatus and to check or coin element separattured and other spurious tokens and coins. ing means particularly adapted for use with coin The frame member I has at its rearward controls having a reciprocable slide in which (left-hand) extremity a depending chambered is deposited a coin or token for movement by part 22, in which is a. coin receiving aperture 5 the slide into a suitable receptable to release or well 24 (Fig. 3) with which a coin receiving a desired mechanism, such as game apparatus or aperture 26 is registered when the slide I4 is a vending device, for operation. at the limit of its inward stroke, as shown in The invention particularly provides a novel Fig. 3, so that a coin carried by the latter'will check separator in the form of a pivoted coin drop into the well 24 under the urgence ofv a 10 receiving pan mounted below a coin discharge presser finger 28 against which the edge of the aperture of a slide above coin receiving recepcoin bears during its inward movement. tacles, and adapted for movement by operation A bottom surface for the coin chamber 22 ,of the slide to pivot relative to the receptacles is provided With aclosure plate 30 attached thereand variously deposit genuine and spurious coin to by means of screws 32, and a second ejecting 15' elements into said receptacles in a manner to slide 34 is supported between the closure plate be more fully pointed out hereafter. 30 and a longitudinally channeled portion 23 in Additional novel objects in structure and functhe undersurface of the housing, for sliding movetion will appear as the following particular de- Irient in a-plane substantially parallel to that of s'cription proceeds in view of the drawing in the slide l4. Ejecting plate 34 is also provided 20 which: 7 with a coin receiving aperture'36 (Fig. 3) which Fig. l is a side elevation of an improved coin is m y in register with the well 24 in the control or m 11 h i coin chamber 22, so that a coin having moved I Fig 2 is wbottom plan View of the device of into the latter will likewise be urged by the presser finger 28 into the aperture 36 in the Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section, taken P QP $1101? and W111 be prevented from pa s along the lines 33 of Fig. 2; whi1e 7 mg downwardly through the latter by the under- Fig. 4 is a lateral section taken along the lines 137mg porno of the bottom plate I'he ejector slide 34 is provided with a headed post 38 extended outwardly therefrom for en-3 gag'ement'with a longitudinal 'slot 40 in slide l4, such that the slide I4 is permitted a given amount of sliding movement in either direction without, effecting any movement of plate 34 until the slide -4 of Fig. 1.

type of coin slide with which my novel separating mechanism is particularly adapted to operate, is set forth in United States Patent No;

2,053,503 to Tratsch et al., and issued upon application Serial No. 43,153, filed October 2, 1935. whereupon a shoulder portion (not shown in It is to be understood that the Separating tail but indicated at 42 Fig 3) extending tomechanism disclosed herein is susceptible of varward the middle of the slot channel will ious modifications and adaptations without deabut the pin 38 and thereafter during the parting f Scope f the mventlor}i and mainder of the inward stroke of slide I4 urged the particular coin slide mechanism herein dethe ejecting slide 34 inwardly to bring the Coin scribed for purposes of illustration is not to be aperture 36 therein beyond the edge 44 of the consmled as a bottom plate 30, and thus permit a coin resting f A suitable coin control mechanism with which the aperture t b urged over the edge and my improved separating means may be used is into a desired coin receptada 45 45 shown in Fig. l and comprises a main fra The ejecting slide 34 is normally urged by a member Ill having an integral mounting plate spring 45 toward t right (Figs; 1 and 2) f ii! for attachment to the side Wall o a cabinet registration of its aperture 36 with the well 24, Or the l ke, and a ciprocable 00in depos t S de into which position it will move upon retraction.

provided with a suitable set of fraud preventing sition.

d g l8 and f yp known in t e t To separate tokens or coin elements of lesser; these do s being adapted to ride variously against diameter than that of ,a genuine or authorized approaches the latter part of its inward stroke, 5 v

movable in the n The mechanism is of the coin slide Hi to its normal outward 110- 50 a coin or tokenjduring its movement rearwardly "coinfelement, I have provided a separator chute l v I by the slide I4 for purposes of preventing fraudu or parr'so having a coin" aperture 52 (Figfi) in its bottom wall 56, through which a coin of unauthorized diameter is adapted to pass.

The chute 58 has a lower lip portion 58 and a pair of upstanding side walls 60, BI, and is pivoted on a pin 62 which extends through the side walls 6|] and 6| and the depending arms 64 of a bracket 66 which is attached to the underside of the ejecting slide 34.

The rearward (left-hand) upper extremity of the chute or pan 50 has a notched portion 68 formed by upsetting a portion of the material thereof to provide the rear end wall or abutment 69 (Fig. 3-) adjacent the pin 62, and a coil spring 18 on the pin has an end portion 12 extended through the cut-away part 68 to bear against the underside of the slide 34, while the opposite extremity 14 of the spring extends downwardly through the slot or cut-away port 68 to underlie the bottom side of the pan and bear against the latter, so that the coil spring may be tensioned when the chute is pivoted downwardly.

The side wall 6| has an outwardly extended ear 16 which is curved on its horizontal surface to form a cam edge for engagement with a corresponding cam edge 18 of a depending cam plate generally indicated at TI. This cam plate is of substantially triangular shape and has an angled bracket extension 79 through which extends an attaching means such as screws 32', to secure it to the bottom wall of the coin chamber '22 (Fig. 4).

The chute 50 is normally in the position shown in Fig. 1; that is to say, pivoted into a downward discharging position in such manner that the lip portion 58 thereof will be disposed above the mouth of a coin receptacle 59.

Operation Assuming the parts to be as shown in Fig. 1, it will be observed that the separator chute 58 is positioned in a downwardly inclining direction above the coin receptacle 59 against the tensioning of its coil spring 18, because the outwardly extending cam ear 16 is urged against the cam edge I8 of the depending cam plate 11, since the discharging or ejecting slide 34 on which the chute 58 is pivoted, is urged inwardly by the spring 46.

At this time, a coin may be deposited in the coin receiving aperture of the slide 14 and the latter may be urged inwardly into the full stroke position shown in Fig. 3. As soon as the shouldered part indicated at 42 of the longitudinal channel or slot 40 in the slide l4 engages the upstanding pin 38 on the ejecting slide 34, the latter will be carried inwardly with the slide l4 against the tension of the spring 46 and carry the ejecting chute or pan 58 rearwardly so as to move the cam ear 16 away from the cam edge 18 of plate 11, thus permitting the pan to rise into a substantially horizontal position under the urgence of its spring Ill as shown in Fig. 3.

At this time any coin previously deposited and lying in the coin aperture 36 of the discharge or ejecting slide 34, will be positioned above the apertured part 52 of the pan 50 and the coin or token will drop into the pan, and if it is of a proper size remain therein until the coin slide I4 is retracted. However, if the coin is less than a predetermined size, it will drop through the aperture 52 in the pan and pass into any suitable receptacle over which the pan will be positioned, by the inward movement of the slide I4. Assuming, however, that the coin thus deposited into the raised chute or pan 58 is of proper size, it will not, of course, drop through the aperture 52, but upon the return of the slide M to its normal outward position the discharging or ejecting slide 34 will be urged back into its normal position (left to right in Fig. 1) by the spring 46 as soon as the shouldered portion 42, in the longitudinalchannel or slot of slide [4, is withdrawn from abutment against the post 38.

This latter return movement of the auxiliary or discharging slide 34 will again cause the cam ear 16 on side wall 6| of the chute 58 to bear against the cam edge 78 of the depending cam plate 77, and as the discharge slide reaches the limit of its right-hand movement toward normal position the chute will be pivoted against the tension of its spring downwardly so as to bring the discharge end or lip 58 thereof above the coin receptacle 59, whereupon the coin previously resting in the pan or chute will gravitate into the receptacle.

While it has been pointed out herein that the particular coin slide mentioned for purposes of illustration is provided with selecting dogs operable variously to prevent fraudulent actuation of the slide by use of spurious coins including those of less than a predetermined diameter, it is thought desirable to mention further that slides such as the one mentioned are arranged to operate when a token of slightly less diameter than a genuine coin, such as a nickel, is deposited therein, the reason for this being that it is unlawful to use a token which simulates a genuine coin identically in dimension. Therefore, tokens are employed which have a diameter very slightly less than the diameter of a genuine coin, and the selecting dogs on the coin slide will permit such tokens to pass although these dogs would function to prevent the operation of the slide upon deposit of a coin or token of appreciably less diameter than the aforementioned nickel coin or token which is intended to be substituted for the nickel. To illlustrate, the coin slide described herein may be operated by deposit of a genuine U. S. nickel coin; this slide may also be operated by a token having a diameter perhaps 5/1000 under the diameter of the nickel, for example; however if a penny were inserted in the slide the dogs would prevent its operation. One of the useful functions of the selecting chute disclosed herein is to permit the slightly undersized tokens which operate the slide to pass through the discharge opening in the pivoted chute, While the five-cent pieces are retained in the chute and discharged when the same is pivoted in the manner set forth.

The embodiment of the invention shown here in for purposes of illustration is not to be understood as confined to the precise details set forth, but is to be limited only to such details of structure and function as may be fairly within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a coin separator, a coin slide structure comprising means for receiving and discharging a token or coin therefrom, a pair of coin receiving means, a chute pivotally mounted beneath said structure and provided with an aperture therein disposed in the path of coins discharged from said slide structure and of a size to enable tokens or coins of less than predetermined size to pass therethrough into one of said receiving means, means for holding said chute substantially horizontal while in coin receiving position, and means for tilting said chute for efiecting the gravitational discharge from the free end thereof into said other receiving means of a token or coin deposited by said structure in said chute of a size incapable of passing through said aperture.

2. In a coin separator, a coin slide structure comprising a guide and upper and lower apertured coin slides adapted to be reciprocated to and from coin depositing position, a pair of coin receiving means, said guide having an aperture adapted to register with the apertures of saidupper and lower slides during the movement of said slides inwardly for effecting the transfer of a coin therethrough, a coin chute pivotally secured adjacent one end thereof to said lower slide and reciprocable therewith and provided with a spring tending to retain the same in substantially horizontal position, said chute having an aperture therein in registration with the aperture of said lower slide through which may pass from said slide into one of said receiving means coins or tokens of less than a given size, and cam means cooperating with said chute for swinging the free end of the same downwardly against the action of the spring thereof during the final portion of the return movement of said chute for effecting the gravitational discharge therefrom into said other receiving means of a token or coin of a size incapable of passing through the aperture thereof.

3. In a coin separator, a coin slide structure, a pair of coin receiving means, a coin chute pivotally mounted adjacent one end beneath said structure and provided with an aperture through which deposited checks or coins of less than a given size may pass into one of said receiving means, means for holding said chute substantially horizontal when in coin receiving position, said structure comprising operatively connected reciprocable upper and lower apertured slides and a guide frame having a passage adapted to register with the passages of each slide during inward movement thereof to effect the transfer of a coin from the upper slide into said chute, said chute being connected to and movable with said lower slide, and cam means for swinging the free end of said chute downwardly during the return movement of said lower slide for effecting the discharge into said other receiver of a deposited check or coin of a size incapable of passing through the aperture of said chute.

4. In a coin separator, a coin slide structure, a pair of coin receiving means, a coin chute pivotally mounted adacent one end beneath said structure and provided with an aperture through which deposited checks or coins of less than a given size may pass into one of said receiving means, means for holding said chute substantially horizontal when in coin receiving position, said structure comprising operatively connected reciprocable upper and lower apertured slides and a guide frame having a passage adapted to register with the passages of each slide during inward movement thereof to effect the transfer of a coin from the upper slide into said chute, said chute being connected to and movable with said lower slide, and means comprising a stationary cam and a cooperating cam follower carried by said chute for swinging the free end of the same downwardly during the return movement of said lower slide for effecting the discharge from the chute into said other receiving means of a deposited check or coin of a size incapable of passing through the aperture of the chute.

5. In a coin separator, a coin slide structure, a pivotally mounted chute therebeneath, a pair of coin receiving means, means for holding said chute substantially horizontal when in coin receiving position, said structure comprising cooperating reciprocable slide means and a frame having passages therein adapted to register during a portion of the inward movement of said means to elfect discharge of a coin from said means to said chute, said chute having an aperture intermediate the ends thereof for the passage therethrough into one of said receiving means of coins of less than a predetermined size, and means for swinging said chute pivotally to lower the free end thereof during a subsequent portion of the movement of said slide means for causing a coin in said chute of a size incapable of passing through said aperture to be discharged from the free end of the chute into said other receiving means.

6. In a coin separator, a coin slide structure, a chute pivotally mounted beneath said structure,

a pair of coin receiving means, means for holda ing said chute substantially horizontal when in coin receiving position, said structure comprising, a guide frame and upper and lower operatively connected reciprocable slides provided with cooperating passages adapted to effect the transfer of a coin from the upper slide into said chute during the inward movement of said slides, said chute being secured to and movable with said lower slide and having an aperture therein intermediate the ends thereof for passage therethrough into one of said receiving means of a transferred coin of less than a predetermined size,

and means coacting with said lower slide during return movement of the same for effecting the downward tilting of the free end of said chute for discharging thereover into said other receiving means a deposited coin of a size incapable of passing through said aperture.

'7. The combination with a coin slide structure provided with passages adapted to register during reciprocating operation thereof to enable a token or coin to drop therethrough, of a pair of coin receiving means, a token or coin receiving chute pivotally mounted adjacent one end beneath and to said structure and reciprocally movable thereby and provided with an aperture aligned with the path of such dropped coins through which tokens or coins only of less than a predetermined size may pass into one of said receiving means, a spring tending to retain said chute in substantially horizontal position for the retention therein of deposited tokens or coins above a predetermined size, and cam means engageable with said chute during a final portion of each operation thereof for deflecting the free end of the same downwardly to cause a token or coin therein to be discharged therefrom by gravity into said other receiving means.

DAVID C. ROCKOLA. 

